Congress Councilor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag has been charged over the massive violence in Ladakh yesterday, for which the government has blamed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and his provocative speeches. At least four protesters died while 90 others suffered injuries during the unrest.
After the violence, curfew was imposed in Leh district. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police was deployed to maintain law and order, alongside the CRPF and local police. Restrictions have been imposed in Kargil in the wake of a shutdown call for statehood and constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.
After the violence yesterday, in which an angry crowd burnt down the BJP office in Ladakh and also the Ladakh Hill Council Secretariat, the BJP had blamed the Congress for violence and showed pictures of Congress Councilor Tsepag being part of the violent mob.
Read: 4 Killed, Many Injured In Clashes In Ladakh During Statehood Protests
Kavinder Gupta, Lt Governor of Ladakh, called the clashes a conspiracy and vowed to act against all those involved in the violence. Soon, the police registered an FIR and named the Congress Councilor for his alleged involvement in violence and arson.
The Home Ministry has squarely blamed Sonam Wangchuk for “instigating the mob through his provocative speech”. Mr Wangchuk had been on hunger strike for the last 15 days, demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards for Ladakh. He, however, called off his hunger strike soon after the violence erupted in Leh yesterday.
The Government said that during Mr Wangchuk’s hunger strike, he invoked the recent Nepal Gen Z protests to incite people.
“In spite of many leaders urging Wangchuk to call off the hunger strike, he continued with it misleading the people through provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal,” said a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Read: Ladakh’s Big Statehood Movement. What Is It, What Do Protesters Want?
The statement said that the mob motivated by the provocative speeches of Mr Wangchuk left the venue of the hunger strike and attacked a political party office as well as the government office of the CEC, Leh. “It is clear that the mob was guided by Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements,” said MHA.
Over the past three years, Ladakh has seen growing unrest against direct central rule. Residents have repeatedly called for statehood and constitutional safeguards to protect their land, culture, and resources.
Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory in August 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. At the time, many in Leh, including Mr Wangchuk, had welcomed the move. But within a year, concerns began to mount over what residents described as a political vacuum under the administration of the Lieutenant Governor.
Read: “Mob Tried To Burn CRPF Personnel”: Ladakh Lt Governor Declares Curfew In Leh
This discontent gave rise to large-scale protests and hunger strikes. For the first time, political and religious groups from Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil joined hands under a joint platform: the Apex Body of Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance.
In response, the Centre set up a high-level committee to examine Ladakh’s demands. However, successive rounds of talks yielded no breakthrough. In March this year, Ladakhi representatives met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. Talks collapsed soon afterward. Local leaders said the Home Minister had rejected their core demands.
“During the meeting, the Home Minister told us that he had made a mistake by carving out Ladakh as a separate Union Territory. He also rejected our demand for statehood and the Sixth Schedule,” one leader who attended the meeting told NDTV.